Next-Gen Connectivity Evolving Movie and Television Franchise Growth

Expanding media properties beyond their original confines is not a new pursuit. Even since the advent of television and film, franchises have been using merchandising with different goods and services as a matter of basic good practice. It’s taken the age of the internet, however, to fully explore the possibilities that greater connectivity produces. Taking a look at some standout examples of how these new forms manifest, we want to explore the effect the digital age has on media consumption and our daily lifestyles.

Forward Media

In the interactive space, few movie and television relationships are as common or as effective as can be seen in digital casinos, like online bingo games. The bingo rooms based on Deal or No Deal, for example, are some of the most popular online, finding a place among more traditional interpretations of the game. The simple premise of titles like this is that since interest in both bingo and game shows appear timeless, a combination of the two is a natural one, that leans on the audiences of both.

Playing the other side of this coin is the continuously expanding landscape of social media. While ostensibly about connecting people, social media has proved a similarly effective tool in raising brand awareness and fostering a culture around movies and television. Consider how each new major Star Wars release is handled, where social media affects visibility both directly and indirectly. Directly, feeds are filled with ads that even those who avoid television can see. Indirectly, the hype surrounding a new release means a significant increase in memes and activity around a launch.

 

 

Changing how we Engage

On the surface level, greater involvement drives more than just sending people to the theatre or their televisions, it helps build an entire culture. This is born from one of the major advantages of the modern connected world, and the effects are more pronounced than we often appreciate.

When we think of the word entertainment, we tend to take it at face value. It’s about being entertained, about having fun. In more intense cases, entertainment can also make us feel distressed, questioning ourselves and confronting issues we’re not entirely comfortable with. While this plays a huge part in why we love movies and television, it only demonstrates a shallow level of why we engage.

In an age when entertainment and communication are shared all over the planet, entertainment gives us a way to understand others, and to form bridges of communication and action despite hurdles of language and culture. From this point of view, simple media expansions like Deal or No Deal into bingo and Star Wars into social media are worth far more than the sum of their parts.

 

Social Media apps
Social Media apps” (CC BY 2.0) by Jason A. Howie

 

Sharing our passions over such a wide scale helps us find friends and compassion for others, even if we could never share a conversation. Sure, it’s accidental on the side of the entertainment producers, but still, the positive implications of better communication and the world of entertainment are too immense to ignore. If nothing else, travelling across the planet to a place where they don’t speak English and seeing a Team Lisa Simpson shirt never fails to make us smile.

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